Garfield (2004)
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A jealous house cat must embark on a daring rescue mission to save his new canine rival from a greedy television personality.
The story
Garfield is a lazy, overweight cat who lives with his owner Jon Arbuckle. After Jon receives a dog named Odie from his love interest, Liz Wilson, Garfield becomes intensely jealous and competes for Jon's attention. When a series of mishaps leads to Odie being taken by a television personality named Happy Chapman, a fed-up Garfield decides to take matters into his own hands. Seeking to rescue his rival, Garfield must navigate various obstacles to find Odie before he is permanently lost to the world of television fame.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Garfield, a cynical house cat, lives with Jon Arbuckle. When Jon's love interest, Liz Wilson, gives him a dog named Odie, Garfield becomes jealous. After a series of events, Odie is taken by television personality Happy Chapman, who claims the dog as his own. Garfield, along with a mouse named Louis, sneaks into a broadcast tower to find Odie locked in a cage. Garfield eventually ends up in an animal shelter, where he befriends other animals who help him escape. He manages to intercept Chapman's train, freeing Odie. They are eventually cornered by Chapman, but Garfield's shelter friends and a local rat colony attack him, placing a shock collar on Chapman. The collar's shocks force Chapman to perform tricks. Jon and Liz arrive, Jon punches Chapman, and the pets are reunited. Garfield accepts Odie as a friend, and Jon and Liz begin a relationship.
- First release year
- 2004
- Runtime (minutes)
- 80
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Peter Hewitt
- Writers
- Joel Cohen · screenplay; Alec Sokolow · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Breckin Meyer · Jon Arbuckle; Jennifer Love Hewitt · Dr. Liz Wilson; Stephen Tobolowsky · Happy Chapman; Bill Murray · Garfield; Evan Arnold · Wendell; Mark Christopher Lawrence · Christopher Mello; Eve Brent · Mrs. Baker; Juliette Goglia · Little Girl
- Genres
- comedy; adventure; buddy
- Themes
- Jealousy; Friendship; Heroism
- Tone and mood
- Comedy; Lighthearted
- Premise and plot tags
- Live-action/Animation hybrid; Talking animals; Missing pet
- Source material / true-story basis
- Jim Davis' comic strip
- Franchise connections
- Garfield
- Reception
- The film received negative reviews from critics, with some describing it as a simplistic kiddie movie, though it was a commercial success grossing $208 million worldwide.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 14% · scale: percentage · review count: 135; Metacritic · score: 27 · scale: 100 · review count: 31
- Production trivia
- Jim Carrey was considered for the role of Jon Arbuckle.; Bill Murray accepted the role because he mistook the writer's name for Joel Coen.; The film was released one week before Garfield's 26th anniversary.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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